Like Brookland–CUA station, the platform at Silver Spring is slightly curved, with convex mirrors located on the inbound side of the platform to aid train operators in making sure the area is clear before closing the doors.

This station is planned to be one of the Metro stations on the Purple Line system, formerly known as the Bi-County Transitway.

A MARC station straddles the Metro station, serving trains on the Brunswick Line. The two halves of the MARC station are connected by a pedestrian bridge. The MARC station began service in this location in 2000, replacing the Silver Spring Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station, located about .25 miles (0.40 km) to the south. In the morning far more people disembark than board at the station, and the reverse is true in the evening. The MARC ridership as of 2013 was 629 passengers.

The Montgomery County Government began construction of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center, a multi-modal passenger transportation facility adjacent to the Metro station, in 2007. The facility has 34 bays for Metro, Ride-on Buses, Shuttle-UM, "Kiss and Ride" access, Metrorail, and MARC train service. Its increased capacity is expected to ease the implementation of the Purple Line. The Transit Center will also mark the location for the future northern terminus of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, which heads southbound to Union Station. The transit center is named for former U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes.[3]

The complex was subject to construction problems and the schedule was extensively delayed.[4]

On March 19, 2013, an engineering firm engaged by Montgomery County to investigate the defects issued a report that indicated "significant and serious design and construction defects, including excessive cracking, missing post-tensioning cables, inadequate reinforcing steel, and concrete of insufficient strength and thickness."[5]

In May 2014, repairs were announced to begin for the summer with the hope of completing them in time to open by early 2015,[6] but after two months they had not resumed.

The facility was transferred from Montgomery County to WMATA in August 2015 after the completion of renovations,[7] and opened on September 20, 2015, five years behind schedule.[8]

The Silver Spring station is also home to Penguin Rush Hour, a 100-by-8-foot (30.5 by 2.4 m) mural painted by Sally Callmer, depicting penguins as Metro customers during rush hour.[9] Although originally intended to be a temporary exhibit, the mural placed at the station in the early 1990s has become a symbol of the downtown area of Silver Spring. In 2004, the Silver Spring Regional Center, a county government facility, commissioned the original artist to restore the mural, which was damaged by the elements and missing sections, for approximately $30,000. In 2004-2005, the mural was removed for the restoration, with the promise that it would be returned by the end of 2005.[10] Subsequently, the county decided to postpone re-installation of the mural until completion of the new transit center.[11]